


it seems like only yesterday

by ColorMeParanoid



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Communication, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Family Fluff, M/M, Moving In Together, Nervous TK Strand, Owen is the best dad, Supportive Carlos Reyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29268498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorMeParanoid/pseuds/ColorMeParanoid
Summary: "I'm moving out," TK said in a rush. Carlos not so subtly cleared his throat and TK corrected, "Technically, I've already moved out.""What?" His dad blinked at him in shock. "When did that happen?""Give or take a month ago?"Another shocked pause. "And you're only telling us now?"OR, the one where TK finally breaks the news to his parents that he’s moving out
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 23
Kudos: 275





	it seems like only yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> A direct follow up from my [previous story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29113986) but you don't have to read it for this one to make sense.

It was a testament to how much time TK spent over at Carlos' place when even after a month of him slowly moving his stuff to Carlos' apartment, his parents were yet to notice that anything was amiss.

To be fair, they were still stuck in their honeymoon phase and they were startlingly pleasant to be around, but TK wasn't fooled by the lovey dovey act. The dam was bound to break sooner rather than later, and he had zero intention of being caught in the crossfire when it did.

Besides, it took TK only a week of his and Carlos’ moving in trial period to decide that he was in this for good. He actually wanted to live with Carlos in his nice apartment – _their_ apartment, as Carlos kept correcting him – full time.

It was an argument that sealed the deal for them, out of everything else that could have done it. Carlos had cleared out a side of his bathroom cabinet for TK who was putting away his own toiletries, a lot more than the toothbrush that was currently there because he was still his fathers son. Carlos had been leaning in the doorway and watching him with a smile when the dreaded question came.

"I wanted to ask you something," Carlos had said, doing a horrible job of trying not to make it sound too ominous. "Are you okay with me keeping medicine in our shared cabinet, or do you want me to put it away somewhere else?" 

TK had frozen in his spot, feeling completely blindsided by the question. While Carlos knew all about his addiction and his relapse and how it came around, it wasn't exactly something they casually talked about often, and TK preferred it that way.

"What?" TK had snapped, immediately on the defensive. "You think I'm going to steal your pills or something? Do you not trust me at all?"

Carlos had immediately frowned and took a step back, like the words had come as a physical blow. "Of course I trust you. It's not about that at all."

TK scoffed, already shoving his things back into his bag and fully prepared to get out of this apartment straight away and call this whole thing off.

"This is your home now, Ty," Carlos said softly, coming to stand behind him, hands tentatively coming to rest on TK's hips, lovingly preventing his escape. "I just want you to be comfortable. If you can genuinely tell me that having to see various pill bottles here every morning won't bother you, I'll just leave them where they are. But if not, I could just as easily keep them somewhere else. Or throw them out altogether, if that's what you need."

TK shook his head, eyes cast down so he wouldn't need to meet Carlos' in the mirror. He'd overreacted to a simple, genuine question and he was embarrassed.

"No," he said. "Don't throw them away." Both of them got hurt on a regular basis and just because TK couldn't have the good stuff to help ease the pain didn't mean that he'd make Carlos suffer through that too.

He bit at his lip as he considered Carlos’ question. He so desperately wanted to say that it would be fine, that nothing would have to change. But it had also barely been a year from his relapse and while he was doing good now, he was bound to run into a rough patch soon enough and Carlos was right, he _didn’t_ want to stare at temptation every single morning as he brushed his teeth and got ready for the day. "But you putting them somewhere out of sight would be nice. If that's okay."

"Of course that's okay." Carlos pulled him closer and TK looked up to meet his eyes in the mirror to find Carlos smiling. "I just wanted to make sure. Didn't want to make any assumptions."

It was safe to say that after that conversation, everything else was pretty simple.

They were both adults who previously lived alone and they knew each other pretty well. The logistics of the division of labor and the finance were a breeze to figure out. And if something else came up, TK was certain they could figure it out together.

But first, he really had to break the news to his parents.

His dad, as smart as he was, could be absolutely oblivious to certain things. Pretty much everyone had noticed that most mornings, it was Carlos dropping him off at work because he was a sap who insisted it was "on his way" even though they both knew it wasn't. And while he still occasionally spent the night at his dad's place, and likely still would in the future out of sheer convenience, it was still a pretty rare occurrence. TK knew that his mom was starting to piece things together but his dad was too blinded by his own contentment for having them all under one roof to allow himself to see the truth.

It was easy to justify the secrecy at first, not wanting to voice any decisions until he was sure that he was actually moving out. But as they settled into an easy routine and TK decided that he was in this for good, well. It was about damn time he let them know about it. Better his dad hear the news from him than his nosy teammates who have all already connected the dots themselves and kept sending him annoyingly smug smirks as he fumbled for excuses as to why he wasn't spending the night at home again.

He'd do it tonight, he decided on his way to work that morning. Carlos was coming over tonight for a family dinner his parents insisted on doing when everyone had the time off and having him there for support should make it a bit easier to break the news to his parents.

Carlos picked him up after work, and together they made their way to his dad’s house for dinner. It wasn’t until halfway through dessert that TK finally gathered enough courage to finally bring up the topic. Carlos squeezed his knee under the table in support as TK cleared his throat to get his parents attention.

"There's something I need to tell you," TK started and immediately hesitated at the obvious concern in his parents eyes.

His dad, always the comedian, let out an exaggerated gasp. "You're pregnant."

Poor Carlos nearly spilled his glass of wine all over himself in shock, eyes wide and startled. Used to his dad's shenanigans, TK simply rolled his eyes and pat Carlos on the back. "If anyone should be concerned about pregnancy, it's you guys. I'm perfectly happy being a single child and I'd like to keep it that way."

His mom stopped his dad's retort with a sharp look. "Now that we're cleared up that no one is _or_ will be getting pregnant, can we return to the topic at hand?" She turned directly to face TK. "What is it you wanted to tell us?"

And while TK knew that she was simply giving him her full attention, being a supportive mom, he could see now why her clients found her so intimidating. She had this air around her that demanded authority and he was helpless but to give into it and tell her everything she wanted to know.

"I'm moving out," TK said in a rush. Carlos not so subtly cleared his throat and TK corrected, "Technically, I've already moved out."

"What?" His dad blinked at him in shock. "When did that happen?"

"Give or take a month ago?"

Another shocked pause. "And you're only telling us _now_?"

“Well, to be fair, it’s not like I was subtle about it.” His room was filled with boxes and he took at least one bag full of stuff to Carlos’ place every time he left the house. What did his dad think he was carrying in his giant duffle bag? Actually, he wasn’t sure that he wanted to know the answer to that. His dad gave him a stern look at that and TK wilted. Yeah, it wasn’t much of an excuse.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” his dad asked, now looking concerned more than hurt. “Did I ever give you an impression that I didn’t approve your relationship with Carlos? Because I do, and I’m so sorry if I made it seem otherwise. You have to know that Carlos had quickly become a part of our family and he’s by far the best boyfriend you’ve ever brought home for us to meet, and there has been many.” His dad’s eyes widened and he turned to Carlos who looked a little like he was about to cry. “But not that many,” his dad quickly ads, misinterpreting Carlos’ reaction. “Don’t worry, you’re still my favorite.”

Carlos couldn’t care less about the number of TK’s previous boyfriends. This was no doubt about his dad calling Carlos a part of their family with such ease. TK didn’t know a lot about his boyfriend’s family situation, only enough to know that things were a little strained and have been for a while. And as confident and self assured as Carlos tried to present himself as, there was a lot of insecurity lurking underneath the surface.

Despite TK’s assurances that his parents liked him, Carlos never quite seemed to believe him. But hearing the words come out of Owen’s mouth seemed to have done the trick and he was getting emotional.

“It’s not about that, dad,” TK quickly assured him. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I guess I just felt a bit guilty for abandoning you.”

And that was the core of it, wasn’t it? Sure, his dad was in remission now and they were already talking about a surgery to fully remove the tumor and things were really looking up. But TK couldn’t help but think of worst case scenarios. What if something happened to his dad while he wasn’t there?

“TK.” His dad stood up and rounded the table to pull him into a tight hug. “I’m going to be just fine on my own. I’ve got your mom with me now, too, remember?”

TK sniffled. Great, now _he_ was getting emotional, too.

“But without me there, who’s going to stop you two from killing each other?”

His dad chuckled, patting him on the back as he pulled away. “If your mom really wanted to kill me, I have no doubt she could do it in front of an audience and still get away with it scot free.”

And yeah, his dad made a good point. His mom was a very competent woman. She’d find a way. Even now, she didn’t try to deny it. 

“Okay.” TK nodded, blinking rapidly. “I guess it’s official then. I’m moving out.”

“But you’ll still stop by for family dinner, right? And just stop by sometimes to hang out with your very dashing aged to perfection dad?” his dad said, words coming out in a croak.

“Dad?” TK asked, worried but his dad waved away his concern.

“I’m fine, I think the news just set in,” he said. He sniffled. “Gwen, our little boy is leaving the nest.”

TK groaned aloud and Carlos just barely managed to hide his smile. "Dad, what are you on about? I lived alone in New York for years. I'm not exactly a kid."

"You'll always be our kid," his mom said. "We worried when you first moved out on your own, and we’re going to worry now."

“And this is different,” his dad insisted. “Before I know it, you’re going to be married and starting a family of your own and have a bunch of kids running around and I just- when did you grow up so fast? I remember dropping you off at your first day in kindergarten like it was yesterday-“

“Dad,” TK interrupted before his dad started revealing all the embarrassing stories from his childhood. “Carlos’ apartment is just a few blocks away from your house. And we work together. You’ll barely notice a difference.”

“Our apartment,” Carlos corrected him, before turning towards his dad. “Sir, I promise I’ll take good care of your son-”

“I have no doubt that you will,” his dad cut in, beaming at Carlos. He spread his arms wide and said, “Come here, son. You’re a Strand now and we’re all huggers so you might as well get used to it.”

Carlos was clearly hesitant at first but relaxed into the hug and yup, TK was definitely going to cry now. He turned around to compose himself only for his mom to pull him into a hug instead.

“I’m so proud of you,” she murmured so softly only he could hear. “You know that, right?”

He nodded and held onto her even tighter. Because he did know that. She had her reservations about Carlos when they first met, concerned that he was moving too fast after everything that happened in New York but she had a change of heart very quickly after seeing him and Carlos together. And she didn’t hesitate to let him know or to make Carlos feel welcome in their family.

It wasn’t something he’d had before, certainly not with Alex who never really cared enough about TK’s parents liking him or approving of their relationship. And TK never knew how much he needed it until now he suddenly had it.

He didn’t know what he’d do without any of them.

When they pulled out of the hug, it was only to switch partners for the second round and after a lot of congratulations and best wishes, they finally allowed TK and Carlos to take their leave. They both had work tomorrow and even though TK was tempted to stay the night, just for old times sake, he’d much rather go home with Carlos. 

Carlos turned to TK when they settled into his car and leaned over to drop a kiss to his forehead. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Yeah,” TK murmured, tilting his head up for a proper kiss. “I guess it wasn’t.”

Carlos indulged him for a few moments before he pulled away and started the car. Which was a good call, because his dad was definitely watching them drive away from the window, giving TK a final little wave that TK exasperatedly returned.

But all in all, the conversation went much better than he expected. And now that everyone knew, he could finally relax and enjoy this new milestone in his life. Because if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that moving in together was far from last that he’d get to celebrate with Carlos.

And he already couldn’t wait for the next one.


End file.
